Blake Reaffirms US Commitment to Nuke Deal
Putting to an end India’s apprehensions over the recent G8 declaration calling for restriction on transfer of atomic technology to non-NPT states, the US has said that it was ‘fully committed’ to the nuclear deal with New Delhi and hopes to ink the end-use monitoring agreement on Monday.
“We hope to be able to sign that (end-use monitoring agreement), and obviously, that will take place on Monday next week,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters in Washington on the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to India beginning on Friday.
Allaying fears arisen out of the recent G8 summit declaration about restriction of nuclear technology to non NPT states including India, Blakes affirmed that US was committed to implementing the civil nuclear deal with New Delhi.
“I do not think there should be any apprehensions about the future of the civil nuclear agreement,” Blake told reporters ahead of Clinton’s maiden official visit to India.
“The (US) secretary and the president are fully committed to that agreement. I think the Indians are also fully committed,” he said.
“They (India) are going to be, I am sure, moving forward to file a declaration of safeguarded facilities with the IAEA, which is sort of the next step in that process, and then we’re going to start reprocessing talks, probably either later this month or in August,” Blake said.
